Isaiah 44:13–19

¹³The woodworker extends a measuring line;

he marks it out with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He fashions it in the likeness of man,

like man in all his glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars

or retrieves a cypress^c or oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵It serves as fuel for man.

He takes some of it to warm himself,

and he kindles a fire

and bakes his bread.

He also fashions it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

¹⁶He burns half of it in the fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

Indeed, he warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

¹⁷From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.

He bows down to it and worships;

he prays to it and says,

“Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸They do not comprehend or discern,

for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see

and closed their minds so they cannot understand.

¹⁹And no one considers in his heart,

no one has the knowledge or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

and I baked bread on its coals;

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”